The Dream That Saved Pilate

Matthew 27:19

While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him."

Don't you worry! God speaks through many ways. Who is as powerful as He is. No one. When we speak, even though how powerful we claim to be among men, we can only speak in words and thats it, but God speaks through many ways. No one can stand and oppose Him. He is the most powerful one. He can speak through dreams, visions, His thunderous voice, His gentle whisper and just many many ways.

Pilate found the Lord Jesus Christ innocent from all the charges of the chief priests and the Sanhedrin. He was trapped as the head of state. He could not free Him from those charges. Pilate did not want the blood of that innocent man to be on his own head. His wife confirmed this through the dream that she had. She was told that He is innocent of those charges brought against Him. The people who had gathered wanted Barabbas a criminal, to walk free instead. With the confirmation of that dream of his wife, Pilate washed his hands with water as an act of not being responsible for sentencing an innocent man. The blood of punishing an innocent man fell on the heads of the people who wanted the Lord Jesus Christ crucified, for they had shouted "crucify him, crucify Him". Pilate was saved by the dream of his wife. No matter who you are or what your position is, it is a big thing to fall into the hands of the living God and be judged by Him. Pilate knew this. In his case, god speaks through many ways not known to man.

Joel 2:28-32

"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls.

Before Darkness Overtakes You

John 12:35
Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going.

Some are comfortable being blind even though they are being led aimlessly by others who are also heading for a fall. Some know the difficulty of being in the dark and not being able to make another safe step forward. They have no other chioice but to follow the lost leader. They are heading no where and yet they refuse to go the right way.

The only way we will know where we are headed to is, when we are led by the Great Shepherd. We like lost sheep will not know what is ahead of us, if we do not have the Great Shepherd leading us. The path is likened to darkness before us. If we just keep going, darkness will overtake us soon. When darkness overtakes us, we will fall and be destroyed. We are in that inevitable stage where we do not exactly know where we are heading. It will just be a guessing game without the leading of the Great Shepherd. The greatest guessing game is knowing, if you really belong to God or not? Here is a hint for you.

1 John 2:11

But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him

Night Is Coming

 

John 9:1-5

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

The work of God brings glory to the LORD. There will come a time soon, when no one wants to give the glory due to God but will only seek glory for themselves. Why else do they fight and quarell? Read the rest of the chapter and you will find out the reason for their fighting and quarelling. You will find the answer to why the Pharisees were angry about the healing of the blind beggar above. They were not satisfied that the Lord Jesus Christ had healed the blind beggar on the Sabbath. They felt that they had the authority over who does what on the Sabbath. Little did these foolish men realise that they were facing the Lord of the Sabbath. The 'Lord of the Sabbath' means He is the same God who created the whole heaven, earth and everything in it in six days and rested on the seventh day as Sabbath. Another words. He created the Sabbath.

They were fighting and quarelling over this to bring glory to themselves that they were the defenders of the Sabbath.  This time around, they were meeting the Lord of the Sabbath and they did not know it? They were the defenders of the Pharisees sect. They were more concerned about what practices they were defending rather than caring for the blind beggar. They asked, why did the blind beggar stop his begging? They were told that he was healed by the Lord Jesus Christ.  Now, the very important issue to them was, why did the Lord heal the blind beggar on the Sabbath? How foolish of someone who claims to know God. Instead, musn't they be grateful to the Lord of the Sabbath that He had cared for and healed one of their fellow men when no one else could all these years? To break the bondage of this man who was born blind to bring glory to the LORD. The Pharisees were worried here that they will not get any glory out of this. They did not like the idea of Christ bringing the glory to the Heavenly Father with this impossible act of healing the blind beggar by opening his eyes to see again with saliva mixed with mud rubbed on his eyes and washed in the pool of Siloam. Just ponder to yourselves, how degradingly unhuman were they in fighting and quarelling over foolish things for themselves?

 

Cross references:

1. John 9:2 : S Mt 23:7
2. John 9:2 : ver 34; Lk 13:2; Ac 28:4
3. John 9:2 : Eze 18:20
4. John 9:2 : Ex 20:5; Job 21:19
5. John 9:3 : Jn 11:4
6. John 9:4 : Jn 11:9; 12:35
7. John 9:5 : S Jn 1:4

Look at Yourself in The Mirror and Do Something

James 1:23-25

Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

The exhortation here is that whoever looks intently and obeys the word of God when it is revealed will be blessed if they continue obeying the word of God till the end. They must not forget all their lives what God has commanded through Christ our Lord.

The “mirror” will show how ugly you are before God or to what extent you are defiled by the sinful nature of the Devil in you.  When you know how ugly you are with the sinful nature of the Devil still found in you, what must you do?

You must make every effort to put to death it’s misdeeds by the power of God the Holy Spirit in you. You cannot put it to death with your own human strength. You need the power of God in your life but you must first surrender your life to Him with the obedience of Christ that is formed in you.

The Golden Rule Applies To All and Not to Some Only.

Matthew 7:12

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

“This sums up the law and the prophets” means that this sums up the Old Testament because, the law and the prophets are found there. In the New Testament, the law and the prophets are fulfilled in Christ. What sums up the law and the prophets? This truth that “in everything, you should do to others what you would have them do to you” sums up the Old Testament and this truth is fulfilled only in Christ. Now, if you want to “do to others what you would have them do to you” you would need Christ to be formed in you. If Christ’s divine nature isn’t formed in you, it would be impossible to do this. The fulfilment of the law and the prophets is only found in Christ our Lord.

It would be impossible to practise this without Christformation in you.

Like An Earring of Gold

Proverbs 25:12
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear.

The wise man here is the Lord Jesus Christ. His words are good even when it is a rebuke. His words are purer than gold because they are tested words. He took the form of a man and lived and moved amongst us. He was tested by wicked men and their evil ways. He remained true to the heavenly Father. Only He is worthy of rebuking us. He is a wise man. His rebuke is like an ornament of fine gold. We must always have a listening ear to His rebuke that will save us.

The Sinful Nature Makes You Ugly

Revelation 16:12-14
New International Version (NIV)
The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.

Never did you think that demonic spirits can perform signs and look where they are headed to.
The battle on the great day of God Almighty is fast approaching. The Devil, knowing that his time is up with God, he makes his minions act out of his sinful nature more and more. His sinful nature in man is ugly inside out. Somehow, his ugliness will keep showing. Why frog, you might have asked? Frog represents the ugliness of the sinful nature of the Devil in you. How it makes you ugly inside out when you obey it?


Romans 1:18-32
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about
God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to
him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Haven't You Taken Up Your Cross Yet?

Matthew 10:38-39

And anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Are we stubbornly holding on to our old ways and rebelliously not wanting to give up pleasing the sinful nature of the Devil in us? How are we to consider following Christ, if we do not want to carry our own cross. Carrying our own cross is living daily to put to death all the misdeeds of the sinful nature of the Devil in us. Only then could Christ's divine nature be formed in us. When we willingly give up pleasing the sinful nature we will gain the divine nature of Christ if only we obey all that He had commanded us.

Galatians 5:18-21

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are
obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Why you should carry your cross? Because, if you don't, you will be cherishing and pleasing the sinful nature of the Devil in you instead.

Can plunder be taken from warriors?

Isaiah 49:24-26

Can plunder be taken from warriors, or captives rescued from the fierce ? But this is what the LORD says: "Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save. I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."

God's enemy nations like Pharoah's always thought that they were invincible. More often, they were proven wrong. If you were to look at that verse carefully, "all mankind" need to know something. That "something" is that, there is a righteous, just and all powerful God above everyone on Earth. All authority belongs to Him. He has the authority to forgive, make things a new and He does this by the power of His Spirit on Earth. If you do not know and understand this truth, then He would need to show it to you practically that He does, just as in the case above. Many of us would think that this passage of scripture applies to the ancient world but if it applies to the ancient world, why are we still behaving ignorant as the ancient world? Why do we not know that the Devil and the demons are long time enemies of God.

God will do the fighting for us. He will show how fierce He is too when the right time comes. He will take the plunder held by the wicked warriors as in Isaiah's times. God will take it away from them. The Devil is still holding on to what rightfully belongs to God's children in Christ. The sinful nature of the Devil in you must be defeated at all costs, only then there will be Christformation in you.

God Opposes The Proud

1 Peter 5:5-7

Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

God gives grace to the humble, to those who humble themselves under God's mighty hand. God's mighty hand disciplines you and me when we stubbornly act out of the sinful nature of the Devil in us.He disciplines us more than what our earthly fathers could do, until the harvest of righteousness appears in us. When we are young, we did not know what was right and wrong because the truth was clouded by untruths. When we are older, we know by the power of God the Holy Spirit, when He convicts our hearts of sin and its consequences.

Be Thoroughly Equipped For Every Good Work

2 Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

It's not about establishing theories we are talking about here, but the truth. It is truth that will set you free. That truth is only found in Christ. In order to find it, you must search as you would for treasure in a field you have just discovered or bought over with a heavy price to pay. You would find that gaining Christ is such an important task. Gaining truth is gaining Christ in you.

It Judges the Thoughts and Attitudes of the Heart

Hebrews 4:12-13

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

What many of us do not know is that, God is alive. We can't see Him but it doesn'tmean He isn't here. He is here, where we are. Most of the time we behave as though He isn't here but that does not make Him absent here and present somewhere else. The words that come out of His mouth are not words of death but words of life. Those words give life, eternal life!

Eternal life in Christ comes into our spirit, soul and body. God's word is powerful. It judges all the motives of our hearts. It stops us from acting out of the sinful nature of the Devil in us, if we haven't put it to death.We can only put to death the sinful nature of the Devil in us with the powerful two-edged sword which is also the sword of the Spirit. God's word is powerful and it has the power to destroy the acts of the sinful nature of the Devil in us forever before eternal life could fill our total beings. God's word is the sword of the Spirit because the Lord Jesus Christ warned us that He must return to the Father in Heaven so that God the Holy the Holy Spirit will come to this earth and do the work of convicting us of our sins and the punishment involved with obeying the sinful nature of the Devil in you.

John 16:7-11

But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

You Thought I Was Exactly Like You

Psalm 50:16-22

But to the wicked person, God says:“What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips? You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you.When you see a thief, you join with him; you throw in your lot with adulterers. You use your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit. You sit and testify against your brother and slander your own mother’s son. When you did these things and I kept silent, you thought I was exactly like you. But I now arraign you and set my accusations before you. “Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you

Most of us take God's silence for granted and think that God approves us of our evil behaviour. He does not. When the right time comes He will rebuke you and may even discipline you if you are his child who would obey Him after some chastisement, if need be. The others who do not care to obey Him even after many rebukes may face His ultimate wrath with no chance of return.

Hebrews 12:5-13

And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,   because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."  Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees."Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

A situation where the people who carry the word of God in their hands openly do not live obeying it as God's word to them, whereas there are those who denounce it openly but are obeying Christ our Lord and everything He had commanded. Who do you say is wicked, between the two? Here is a parable of the Lord Jesus that brings to pass the words of the Greatest Prophet of God.

Matthew 21:28-32

"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'" 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went."Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go."Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

Saul Bullies David

1 Samuel 18:8-11

 Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom? ” And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.

God had rejected Saul as king of Israel and he knew it deep down inside of him. He started venting out his anger on his God-appointed successor, David. Samuel the prophet of God was told to anoint David to be king and so Saul wasn't happy that God was going to replace him. but ,before all these happened, Saul was tested. He could not handle the army of the Philistines led by Goliath, which David with his trust in the Name of the LORD could easily dispose them off. Saul was beginning to feel jealous of the praises David was receiving from the people of Israel. He started bullying David while he was still the king. What he did not know was that God was behind David. If Saul bullies David whom God has appointed to replace his leadership, he is actually brave enough to bully God. What do you think happened to Saul after that? Why not read the whole chapter by yourself!

Guess What Goliath Boasted to David?

1 Samuel 17:41-45

 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals! ”David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

Goliath was 'hungry' for the flesh of young David . Guess what happened? Goliath challenged David that he had total power over David's flesh but the young and visibly insignificant David counter challenged Goliath that he had been given total power over Goliath's spirit. Who do you think won the challenge? Read the whole chapter yourself. All it took the insignificant David to take the spirit away from the boastive Goliath and send him and his minions to where they belong is simply trusting in the name of the LORD. The NAME  that is above every other name on earth, in heaven and even underneath the Earth. David warned the evil and threatening Goliath who came in the strength of the  Philistines that, if you come to me like an animal, as an animal I will tear you to pieces but this time in that ever powerful NAME of the LORD of heaven and Earth. Goliath and his evil army is likened to the Devil and the demons on  Earth that stubbornly cause harm and destruction to all. The Devil and it's demons are stubborn beings.Just a matter of time and they will be disposed off to where they belong.

David had his eyes fixed on the power of the Name of the LORD he trusted in and not on the destructive power of the enemy. Goliath had his eyes  fixed on the strength of his army and what damage it could do with it's sword, spear and javelin on others. We know the story, who gave whose flesh to the birds and wild animals in the end. Never boast in the strength of the sinful nature of the Devil in you, never!

Psalm 102:15

The nations will fear the name of the Lord, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.

The Iron Scepter and The Morning Star

Revelation 2:26-28

To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations — that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give that one the morning star.

Sins that proceed out of the sinful nature of the Devil in you has no power. It may have the power to deceive but it will be defeated in the end. True authority comes from the one and only, Bright and Morning Star whom God has appointed. The one and only Bright and Morning Star is Jesus Christ our Lord. In Him is placed all the heavenly Father's authority over all things in heaven, Earth and even, all things underneath the Earth. The Bright and Morning Star of God will give all those who overcome the sinful nature of the Devil in them, His authority. The Morning star He gives will be the authority He has received from the heavenly Father. This authority is for the nations.

In Revelation chapter 2, the Lord Jesus Christ is seen as someone in authority, different from what we see in the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. He showed the authority given to Him by the heavenly Father in the four gospels but this appearance of authority in Revelation chapter 2 is different. He appears as one who is a just God. He knows every detail that happens on Earth. Righteous authority cannot come from the sinful nature of the Devil. Righteous authority can only come from The Righteous One. God 's Righteous One is Jesus Christ our Lord, His only begotten Son. He will rule all men and women through His righteousness.

Revelation 2:18-19

"These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.  I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first".

 

Cross references:

1. Jeremiah 1:10 : Jer 25:17; 46:1
2. Jeremiah 1:10 : Jer 12:17
3. Jeremiah 1:10 : Jer 18:7-10; 24:6; 31:4, 28

The Refining Goes On in Vain

Jeremiah 6:27-30

“I have made you a tester of metals and my people the ore that you may observe and test their ways.
They are all hardened rebels, going about to slander. They are bronze and iron; they all act corruptly.
The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out.They are called rejected silver, because the Lord has rejected them.”

When no one has not learnt anything, not because they can't but because they dont want to, history will keep repeating itself. This is what you call rebellion towards the LORD. This is going to be a very sad situation, just as in the times of Jeremiah the prophet. For those who are faihtful in Christ, get yourself ready for what's going to happen next. It is going to come from the LORD. For those who love and obey Christ, nothing is going to be impossible for you. You will cross into your Canaan Land (full Christformation in you). The rest will be defeated by their own unbelief. How long more are you going to claim ignorance to the ways of the LORD?